"Ah."

Rei Ao gave a light chuckle and gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Mikoto, rushing through something like this would only insult me."

"But your body's clearly trembling."

"I am not!"

She instinctively refuted, but the faint quiver of her lashes betrayed her.

"You know…"

Rei Ao's fingertips slid from her chin down to her neck, feeling her racing pulse.

"I've seen you being all cool as the Railgun many times... But this side of you? It's the first time I'm seeing it for myself."

Being treated like this made Mikoto feel all the blood in her body rushing straight to her face. Rei Ao's touch felt like it carried electric sparks, sending shivers wherever it passed. She wanted to push him away, yet her arms had no strength left in them.

"M-maybe I should shower first…"

She offered in embarrassment, trying to stall.

Rei Ao shook his head. His other arm had already encircled her waist.

"No need. I'd rather taste you just as you are, Mikoto."

"Eh?"

Those words made Mikoto's brain nearly short-circuit. She felt Rei Ao's sudden kiss—warm and soft, completely different from the roughness she'd imagined. It was so gentle it made her heart melt. And just like that, she lost her first kiss. Realizing this, a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

Rei Ao noticed, pausing slightly to wipe away her tear with his thumb.

"Regrets?"

"No…"

Mikoto shook her head, voice catching in her throat.

Rei Ao's gaze deepened. In one swift move, he scooped Mikoto into his arms and carried her toward the sofa.

"Mikoto, you think I'm only after your body?"

She found herself gently laid on the couch, barely able to react before Rei Ao towered over her. His presence gave her an odd sense of security, like being enveloped by the entire night sky.

"What I want…"

Rei Ao said, drawing closer,

"…is to watch the proud Mikoto show me that expression."

That single sentence left Mikoto so muddled she could hardly tell which way was up. She only vaguely realized they were already at the final step.

"W-wait!"

Just then, she grabbed his wrist, tears at the corners of her eyes as she gazed at him with sticky, uncertain words:

"Rei Ao-kun, actually, I… I don't hate you…"

Hearing this, Rei Ao smiled.

"Mikoto, I really like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Eh?"

The sudden confession threw Mikoto into a fluster.

"H-how can you ask that now?!"

She bit her lip. Who confesses at a moment like this?

"Heh, maybe it's a little underhanded to make sure I get my happiness."

Rei Ao didn't rush her, only smiling with narrowed eyes, waiting for her reply. By now, Mikoto could barely stand the sensations building up inside. She glared at him in shame and exasperation.

"Jerk… You've been treating me like I'm in the palm of your hand all along, haven't you?"

"Hehe, guilty as charged."

That shameless admission made her even more annoyed, and she hit his chest lightly with her fists.

"You horrible jerk… Fine, I agree, now get on with it already!"

In the end, Mikoto surrendered to the emotions he'd stirred up in her, coupled with gratitude and fondness for him. Hearing her acceptance, Rei Ao stopped pretending and instantly assumed the role of a ravenous wolf.

"Tsk, tsk. I've long wanted to taste the 'natural flavor' of Mikoto."

"Ugh! Shut up!"

…

Meanwhile, on the other side:

Everyone's expressions had shifted from curiosity to sheer shock as they learned about the chat group and, moreover, the extent of Rei Ao's power.

They also discovered a huge backlog of trade logs from various worlds—requests to save worlds, deals to destroy civilizations, even commissions to rewrite universal laws. Rei Ao had fulfilled them all.

"Is Rei Ao-sama…a god?"

Awaki Musujime muttered.

"A god? I feel like God isn't even this amazing…"

Index said, face troubled. Her faith had been shattered and re-shattered. She realized it wasn't God who saved her, but Rei Ao.

"…"

Kanzaki Kaori's face was complex. She hadn't expected him to be this extraordinary. It seemed she'd never have a chance to repay the favor she owed.

Kuroko flipped rapidly through the records until her finger stopped on one entry, her face turning deathly pale.

"Wh-what is this?"

The others crowded around to see her screen:

[Trade Target]: Mikoto Misaka

[Trade Content]: Help them solve a major problem

[Trade Condition]: "Electro-Master", "One-time body usage right"

The room went silent. Index looked puzzled, Kanzaki's expression turned awkward, Shokuhou's pupils shrank sharply, and Awaki's gaze showed sudden comprehension.

"Body usage right… Isn't that just selling herself?"

"N-no way!"

Kuroko's voice trembled.

"Onee-sama would never… That must be a mistake!"

Frantically flipping through more records only confirmed it. To deal with the enormous crisis they faced, Mikoto had indeed traded away her body usage to Rei Ao.

Images Kuroko did NOT want to imagine—like a kneeling Mikoto bowing to Rei Ao—flashed in her mind, making her sanity snap with a resounding "pop."

"Onee-sama!"

She went to call out, but neither Rei Ao nor Mikoto was in the room.

"Where did Onee-sama go?!"

She cried, instantly teleporting in frantic leaps throughout the building to search.

Shokuhou remained where she was, absentmindedly running her fingertip over her phone's edge.

While Mikoto's bold deal shocked her, she had something else on her mind. Her gaze fell on another entry in the chat logs: some people in other worlds had bartered their "body usage right" for the most insane things.

A wild idea took root in her heart.

'If Rei Ao can truly do anything… then maybe, just maybe, Dolly… can come back?'

~~~

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